Hi-Life Bar & Grill is part of a series of tidbits from the chapters of my book Bars, Taverns and Dives New Yorkers Love, published by Rizzoli. You can order it from Powell’s, Amazon, Rizzoli, and Barnes & Noble. Signed prints of all the bars in the book are available here.

“My vision was ‘working-class elegance,’” says Hi-Life Bar & Grill owner Earl Geer, who opened the Hi-Life in 1991. “I wanted the place to have that sort of 1930s ‘old man’ vibe. In my mind’s eye, the owner would’ve had his own fish tank in here, then he’d’ve caught a marlin in Key West, had it mounted, and shoved it down everyone’s throat.” (That marlin, if you’re looking, is above the breezeway as you walk in, north of the fish tank and between the two potted palms.) Geer took inspiration from the once-ubiquitous corner “steaks & chops” taverns that dotted New York from the 1930s to the ‘60s, and faded away as tastes changed and they were sold, remodeled or torn down for shiny condos and other modern splendors like pink nail salons, over-illuminate juice bars, and yet another convenient branch of your favorite megabank.

“I loved the architecture and feeling of those places,” says Geer. “I wanted to bring back something that was fading from New York City.” In ’91, he created the Hi-Life out of a space that had been a Thai restaurant in the 1980s (and before that a gay bar, and before that a topless joint, and before even that a classic bar and grill called the Luxor), then tricked it out in the style of long-gone classics like McHale’s Bar in Hell’s Kitchen and Harlem’s Lenox Lounge. “They tore the shit out of that place,” he says sadly, looking at a black and white photo of the Lenox hanging on the wall.

What to Drink at the Hi-Life Bar & Grill:

You’re in a deco-inspired tavern with a Martini glass represented right there on the neon sign out front. Don’t screw around, bub. Get a real drink, like a Martini or a Gibson, made big and served up in a cocktail glass, with a little extra in a “sidecar” carafe on ice. (Bonus: the generous serving of six “drunken” olives or cocktail onions that come with your drink, soaked for days—sometimes weeks—in vodka or gin.) Then, when you’re good and warmed up, get something all koo-koo like the White Cosmo, a refreshing, powerful concoction, also served with the sidecar kicker.

Recipe:

White Cosmo
• 4 oz. Absolut Citron
• 2 oz. white cranberry juice
• Splash St. Germaine
Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker tin. Shake vigorously, and I mean really beat the hell out of it. Strain into a large, chilled cocktail glass and serve with a lemon twist.

Happy hour: Daily, 4–7 p.m. $6 select specialty cocktails, well drinks, house wine and domestic draft pints. $6 hors d’oeuvres and small plates, too, like the sliders/sushi combo, oysters, clams, nachos, and “Chinatown ribs.”

Next up:

Harry’s, my favorite place to go in the shark tank/tourist trap that is what’s left of New York’s Financial District, and another chapter of my book Bars, Taverns and Dives New Yorkers Love, which you can order right here. Limited-edition signed prints of the bars are available here.